The most popular martial arts(武术) today originated in Asia, especially in China. Many martial arts were invented because people needed to defend themselves or protect others. Nowadays, people learn martial arts as a way of keeping fit or as a competitive sport, but they are still very useful for self-defense.
Martial arts are often referred to as either the soft ones or the hard ones. These term simply a way of dealing with your opponent’s force. Soft martial arts, such as tai chi, teach you to use your opponent’s force to defend yourself. Soft styles allow you to use flowing movements and timing to avoid your opponent’s attacks. These martial arts are soft for the defender but not for the attacker! On the other hand, hard styles, such as kung fu, teach you to defend yourself using force. Techniques involve blocking, posturing, powerful hitting and kicking. Hard martial arts techniques are more effective if you are more skillful, more powerful and faster than your opponent.
Perhaps one of the best known Japanese martial arts today is karate. But did you know that its roots are derived from Fujian Province? In the 4th century, a community of Chinese migrants from Fujian settled in what was then the kingdom of Okinawa. The Chinese migrants used to gather in a park to enjoy cultural activities—one of which was kung fu. This soon caught the attention of local youths, who started learning kung fu from their Chinese neighbors.
In fact, Chinese influence on martial arts was not limited to kung fu. The very first Korean military training guidebook was based on a Chinese version. During the Japanese invasion of Korea in the 16th century, the Korean army needed an effective way to train a large number of troops. They adopted a training methodology(方法) from a Chinese military book called Ji Xiao Xin Shu, written by the famous Chinese general Qi Jiguang.
1. Why did people invent martial arts?| A．For keeping fit. | B．For self-defense. |
| C．For competition. | D．For attacking others. |
| A．Using violence to attack others. |
| B．Attacking your opponent’s weakness. |
| C．Using smooth action to defend yourself from damage. |
| D．Defending yourself with powerful hitting and kicking. |
| A．The Chinese army. | B．The Korean soldiers. |
| C．Japanese troops. | D．Chinese migrants. |
| A．To train soldiers. | B．To keep soldiers fit. |
| C．To attend cultural activities. | D．To show admiration for Qi Jiguang. |
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【推荐1】Professional rock climber Emily Harrington has made history after successfully free climbing Yosemite National Park's El Capitan last Wednesday.
Harrington, 34, became the fourth person—and the first woman—to ever scale the 3,000-foot El Capitan without the help of a rope or other equipment. “The people before me who have achieved this are kind of like some of my heroes in rock climbing,” she said, “so it feels pretty special to join that group.”
But Harrington's climb was not without injury—at one point, she slid and was left with a serious wound on her forehead that required her to take a break. “I took a fall and I couldn't get my feet out and my head actually hit the wall,” she recalled, “I got this wound on my forehead. I rested a little bit longer, bandaged (包扎) it up, and then tried again,” Harrington said，adding that although she “kind of didn't really want to try again,” she powered through because “ I felt like I should try again.”
After 21 hours and 13 minutes, Harrington scaled all of El Capitan, achieving a feat (壮举) she failed to finish twice last year. “That was my life dream. I achieved it,” she said.
Harrington said she's hopeful that her journey has inspired others. “I hope that as a result of my story more people will get to experience climbing, or at least try.”
Harrington previously scaled Mt. Qomolangma, the tallest mountain in the world. As a former member of the USA climbing team, Harrington has competed in five U. S. sport climbing championships and two North American championships.
1. What do we learn about Harrington's conquering El Capitan?| A．She took no tools to help her. |
| B．She climbed up the mountain freely. |
| C．She was the first person to climb El Capitan. |
| D．She got the fourth place in the competition. |
| A．Remove. | B．Mount. |
| C．Measure. | D．Weigh. |
| A．The risk of the climbing. | B．Harrington's determination. |
| C．The meaning of failure. | D．Harrington's expert skills. |
| A．Harrington's achievements. | B．US sport climbing events. |
| C．The climbing team's arrangements. | D．The secret to Harrington's success. |
| A．A travel journal. | B．A story book. |
| C．A news report. | D．A science magazine. |
【推荐2】In the Pacific Northwest during winter, 5:15 a.m. might be the dead of night. The alarm goes off and the only light is the red glow from my clock. My body says, “Go back to bed.” But I don’t. I know my running partner will be waiting in the street and I’m not going to stand her up. Then I walk onto the road, complaining about the cold and wishing I were back under my warm covers.
If you asked me a year ago if I could see myself running at 5:15 on a winter morning, my answer would be surely no. Running in the morning was something I didn’t even consider. While my friends went to the gym before work, I preferred to work out in the middle of the morning or in the afternoon.
Then, last fall I met an old friend. She’d been running in the morning and lost forty pounds. When I looked in the mirror, I knew I could benefit from the same kind of weight loss. I asked if I could join her. I knew I needed to change something if I wanted to get back in shape.
The first two months was especially hard, because we ran twice a week at 5:15 a.m. and I slept till 7:00 the other mornings. But as I’ve adjusted to the morning run, I’ve discovered great joys that make it even more worthwhile than a little weight loss.
While I haven’t lost forty pounds yet, I fall in love with the morning run. It’s amazing that I have more energy and feel stronger. Because of the morning run, the rest of my day is more productive.
1. What can we know about the author from paragraph 1?| A．5:15 a.m. is the best time for her to exercise. |
| B．She prefers to run alone without any company. |
| C．She always goes running with many warm clothes on. |
| D．She goes for a run despite the cold and the need to rise early. |
| A．Uninterested. | B．Scared. | C．Confused. | D．Supportive. |
| A．Her friend’s suggestion. | B．Her partner’s encouragement. |
| C．Realizing the harm of being fat. | D．Realizing the benefit of running. |
| A．She has become slim again. | B．She has become more energetic. |
| C．She has become more confident. | D．She has become a better runner. |
【推荐3】If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.
Some doctors now think that the internal fat surrounding important organs like the heart liver could be as dangerous as the external fat which can be noticed more easily.
“Being thin doesn’t surely mean you are not fat”, said Dr Jimmy Bell at Imperial College.
Since 1994, Bell and his team have scanned nearly 800 people with MRI machines to create “fat maps” showing where people store fat.
According to the result, people who keep their weight through diet rather than exercise are likely to have major deposits of internal fat, even if they are slim.
Even people with normal Body Mass Index scores can have surprising levels of fat deposits inside. Of the women, as many as 45 percent of those with normal BMI scores (20 to 25) actually had too high levels of internal fat. Among men, the percentage was nearly 60 percent.
According to Bell, people who are fat on the inside are actually on the edge of being fat. They eat too many fatty and sugary foods, but they are not eating enough to be fat. Scientists believe we naturally store fat around the belly first, but at some point, the body may start storing it elsewhere.
Doctors are unsure about the exact dangers of internal fat, but some think it has something to do with heart disease and diabetes (糖尿病). They want to prove that internal fat damages the body's communication systems.
The good news is that internal fat can be easily burned off through exercise or even by improving your diet. “If you want to be healthy, there is no shortcut. Exercise has to be an important part of your lifestyle,” Bell said.
1. What is this passage mainly about?| A．Thin people may be fat inside. | B．Internal fat is of no importance. |
| C．Internal fat leads to many diseases. | D．Thin people don't have diabetes. |
| A．the exact dangers of internal fat |
| B．being slim is not dangerous at all |
| C．internal fat is the cause of heart disease |
| D．being slim doesn’t mean you are not fat inside |
| A．internal fat leading to disease has been proved |
| B．thin people usually have internal fat even if they are slim |
| C．it is easier to burn off internal fat than external fat |
| D．exercise plays an important role in people’s life for keeping healthy |
| A．a long road | B．an easy way |
| C．a clear difference | D．a short distance |
【推荐1】Here come some of the ways advised to keep delighted and a healthy mood by Harvard.
♦ Be grateful and say thanks often
♦
If your tendency is to imagine the very worst case whenever you have a trouble, train yourself to change that tendency. Ask yourself what good can come from the situation or what you can learn from it. Optimism surely fuels success and delight.
♦ Understand and forgive
Step into others’ shoes and understand a situation from another’s perspective, and we’re more likely to handle the situation with objectivity and effectiveness. There will be less conflicts and more delight.
Hate and anger are forms of self-punishment. When you forgive, you’re actually practicing kindness to yourself. Most importantly, learn to forgive yourself. Everyone makes mistakes.
♦ Keep learning and be a problem solver
Learning keeps us young and olive. When engaging our brains toward productive uses, we’re much more likely to feel delighted and fulfilled.
Delighted people are problem solvers. When facing a challenge in life, they don’t beat themselves up and fail into a depressive state.
| A．Be optimistic and laugh often |
| B．Pay attention to the little details in your life |
| C．Do what you love freely and live happily in the present |
| D．Laughter is the most powerful treatment to anger or depression |
| E．It’s through our mistakes that we learn and grow to be bigger and better |
| F．Only by making mistakes repeatedly will we realize it is normal to make mistakes |
| G．Instead they face the challenge and channel their energies to finding a creative solution |
【推荐2】In Japan, some workers who regularly drink beer at the end of the day are giving their livers a rest by turning to beer that is free, or nearly free of alcohol.The liver is the organ that works to remove alcohol from the body. Masuda, one of beer lovers, said he is paying more attention to his health now that he is older.
Asahi is a large beverage company in Japan, which made 20 percent more money from low-alcohol beer in 2020 compared to the year before. Kirin is another company that makes things to drink. It saw sales grow by 10 percent last year and expects another increase this year.
The increase in sales of non-alcoholic beer might be the result of many Japanese people spending more time at home. In the past, they would order beers together while going out. More people are trying to stay healthy as well. Also, fewer people are drinking beer, as wine and other alcoholic drinks become more popular. But the new interest in low-alcohol beer has helped the beverage industry in Japan.
In recent years, many companies started making non-alcoholic beers. They caught on in places like Australia and Germany but not in Japan – until this year.
The chief of Suntory, another large beverage company in Japan, said people only responded to non-alcoholic beer advertising when the product started to taste better. Many people agree that today's non-alcoholic beers taste better than they used to. Asahi's "Beery" has very little alcohol. But it is supposed to have more taste than earlier versions of low-alcohol beer because of a new way of removing the alcohol. The company plans to offer more low-alcohol beers in coming years.
Kazuo Matsuyama is marketing chief for Asahi, who said most beer companies used to advertise to people who had a drink every day. That was about 20 million people. But there are about 80 million people in Japan between the ages of 20 and 60." But now we need to look at others." Matsuyama said.
1. Why do some Japanese workers turn to beers free of alcohol nowadays?| A．To appreciate a tasty flavor. | B．To ensure a healthier lifestyle. |
| C．To get rid of liver cancer. | D．To relieve stress in their life. |
| A．Beverage company traditions. |
| B．Financial reports. |
| C．Published statistics. |
| D．Public opinions. |
| A．Enthusiastic. | B．Indifferent. | C．Critical. | D．Objective. |
| A．New lifestyles in Japan. |
| B．The development of Asahi. |
| C．Introductions of different beers. |
| D．Popularity of alcohol free beers. |
【推荐3】After Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico in 2017 and caused huge damage, researchers found rhesus macaques, a species of monkey living on Cayo Santiago, became more sociable with each other, according to a study published in the journal Current Biology.
“The monkeys live in a highly competitive society and can become aggressively protective over resources like food and water,” said study author Camille Testard, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. “That’s why researchers predicted that after the hurricane, the monkeys would stick with their closest friends in order to survive,” Testard said. Instead, the island’s residents became more tolerant of each other and greatly expanded their friend group.
“To measure the monkeys’ socialization and friendship-building, researchers tracked who they groomed (梳毛), which is one of the ways monkeys bond with one another,” Testard said. “It serves a similar function for us to getting coffee or a beer with friends,” she added. After the hurricane, the “grooming networks” became denser, Testard said, meaning there were more connections being formed compared to the monkeys’ behavior before the storm. The scientists found the animals made friends with friends of their friends, which she said is a common “easy” route to making friends that’s mirrored in human social circles.
The researchers didn’t know why the monkeys decided to make more friends, but Testard assumed it could be “a strategy to gain tolerance and support from the greatest number of individuals and thereby access to limited resources like shade.”
The monkeys could be forming additional bonds to “buffer” them from future hardship from the natural disaster, said Brenda MeCowan, a professor of population health and reproduction, who was not involved in the study. She said the findings also provide an insight into how humans might cope with the increasing threat of climate crisis. “Rhesus macaques are close evolutionary relatives to humans and share many features of their biology and behavior with us, ”said McCowan. “Our best friends can give us many things, but sometimes, what we need is a social network where everyone is just friendly enough.”
1. What was the researchers’ prediction about the monkeys alter the hurricane?| A．They would narrow their circle of friends. |
| B．They would spend more time making friends. |
| C．They would become less aggressive than before. |
| D．They would value the accessible resources. |
| A．To build closer bonds. |
| B．To get food opportunities. |
| C．To keep safe physically. |
| D．To show tolerance and support. |
| A．We must learn to live in harmony with wildlife. |
| B．We should be more united to face global challenges. |
| C．Human behavior has a great influence on monkeys. |
| D．Climate crisis is now the biggest threat to our survival. |
| A．Monkeys and humans have similar behavior. |
| B．Monkeys managed to survive natural disasters. |
| C．Biological ties do exist between humans and monkeys. |
| D．Monkeys formed unexpected friendship after the hurricane. |
